"A little girl that I nanny was sick for a year with it, and she was throwing up and was severely sick," Higgins said. "She had to be out of sports for the entire year."

With three daughters of her own involved in various activities, Higgins is surprised to hear research is lacking when it comes to head injuries in women.

"That is a huge concern because girls play sports as much as boys do now," she said.

Most data has been collected from male brains even though trauma experiences for female athletes who have concussions are different.

"I hope that would be something they would focus on now that they've realized it, but it doesn't completely surprise me," said Port Charlotte mom Alexis Franz.

Experts say women may benefit from gender-specific information about concussions like they do with heart disease.

"It's not new because we need more research. We need more research to figure this out, but I think it suggests that there is a big difference," explained Dr. Brian Hudson, a neurosurgeon with Bayfront Health Medical Group.

Hormones could be to blame for the gender gap, especially in recovery.

"Research suggests that women are more prone to migraines after puberty and before menopause," Hudson said.

Southwest Florida moms hope this will spark new findings as their daughters grow and become more involved in sports.

The National Institutes of Health now requires that all research pertaining to head injuries address age and gender.

A study published in March found the total number of hits to the head taken by athletes predict depression, cognitive problems, and behavioral changes later in life better than their history of concussions. That study came with a warning - it only involved 93 men and no women.